Fremantle co-vice captain Andrew Brayshaw has declared that the squad’s depth is in a strong position, making for a highly competitive pre-season.

Fremantle played their first intraclub match on Friday, with Brayshaw revealing in his Tuesday morning chat with Tim Gossage and Scott Cummings on SEN WA that competition for spots in the starting Round 1 side has been driving the group.

“It’s definitely been one of our most challenging summers,” Brayshaw said.

“The heat has been brutal, and the sessions we’ve been doing have been high intensity.

“A lot of our practice, full-ground stuff has been really solid.

“We have a lot of guys competing for spots, and everyone is just hungry to get into the Round 1 side because we really believe we can go far this year, so everyone is really excited.”

Fremantle fans will have another opportunity to see the team live on Saturday 15 February, at Optus Stadium when they clash with the Indigenous All Stars in a pre-season fixture.

The Club on Monday revealed that captain Alex Pearce would be unavailable for the Indigenous All Stars match after suffering a minor ankle injury in the Friday intraclub, while Club legend Michael Walters will captain the Indigenous All Stars side.

“We are very excited. It’s the first time in a while the AFL has had the All Stars game, and we are very grateful Freo gets to be a part of that,” Brayshaw said.

“We will be taking it seriously. For us, it’s one more opportunity for our players to prove that they’re ready to play Round 1.

“Everyone who is putting up their hand to play is going to be out there giving it their all, and what better team to try and do that against than the Indigenous All Stars.

“It’s going to be very exciting - very fast ball movement through the corridor, (Indigenous All Stars) trying to take hangers on us and trying to sell candy, which will be a lot of fun - but we will be taking it very seriously.”